Psychology Commons^™

The Effects Of Nesting Environment On Neonatal Hypoxic-Ischemic Injury, Laura Grace Rollins

Graduate Masters Theses

Term neonates with hypoxic-ischemic (HI) injury are at risk for devastating neurological sequelae. The objective of this study is to determine if altering the early environment for maternal care-taking impacts the immediate and long-term sequelae of HI offspring. The Rice-Vannucci model was used to induce HI in postnatal day (PND) 7 Long-Evans pups. Litters were assigned to a closed nest (CN) or normal standard housing (SH) condition. Neurobehavioral development, cognitive ability, and stress response were assessed to establish any benefits of the CN condition. Finally, postmortem brain tissue was analyzed for morphometric markers of injury.

The Effects Of Chronic Simvastatin Treatment On The Expression Of Behavioral Symptoms In A Transgenic Mouse Model Of Huntington’S Disease, Ashley Whitmarsh

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Huntington’s disease (HD) is a heritable, neurodegenerative disorder characterized by motor, cognitive, and psychiatric disturbances. An unstable CAG expansion within the gene normally encoding for the Huntingtin protein is responsible. The expanded mutant form of Huntingtin and the putative protein co-factor Rhes interact and cause cell death within the striatum. We hypothesized chronic treatment with simvastatin, a cholesterol lowering drug, would disrupt the biosynthetical pathway which gives both Rhes and its target cells binding sites and render Rhes inactive. Healthy and HD mice were treated with simvastatin or a vehicle. Animals’ motor behavior was assessed with three separate tests over …

Neural Responses During Trace Conditioning With Face And Non-Face Stimuli Recorded With Magnetoencephalography, Nicholas Lee Balderston

Theses and Dissertations

During fear conditioning a subject is presented with an initially innocuous stimulus like an image (conditioned stimulus; CS) that predicts an aversive outcome like a mild electric shock (unconditioned stimulus; UCS). Subjects rapidly learn that the CS predicts the UCS, and show autonomic fear responses (CRs) during the presentation of the CS. When the CS and the UCS coterminate, as is the case for delay conditioning, individuals can acquire CRs even if they are unable to predict the occurrence of the UCS. However when there is a temporal gap between the CS and the UCS, CR expression is typically dependent …

The Role Of The Amygdala, Retrosplenial Cortex, And Medial Prefrontal Cortex In Trace Fear Extinction And Reconsolidation, Janine Lynn Kwapis

Theses and Dissertations

A wealth of research has outlined the neural circuits responsible for the consolidation, reconsolidation, and extinction of standard "delay" fear conditioning, in which awareness is not required for learning. Far less is understood about the neural circuit supporting more complex, explicit associations. "Trace" fear conditioning is considered to be a rodent model of explicit fear because it relies on the cortex and hippocampus and requires explicit contingency awareness in humans for successful acquisition. In the current set of studies, we aimed to better characterize the neural circuit supporting the consolidation, reconsolidation, and extinction of trace fear in order to better …

Congruent And Incongruent Effects Of Ethnic Music On Ethnic Menu Item Selection, Ryan David Muniz

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated what impact ethnic music had on ethnic menu item selection. College students were randomly divided into three groups and listened to one randomly assigned sound treatment in sensory booths. Three hundred and five participants completed the questionnaire with measures of expected price value and willingness to pay value. One of the groups listened to an Italian folk music, the second group listened to a Thai folk music, and the third group listened to a restaurant background noise in order to examine if the music will impact each participant menu items selection and perceived price values. The result …

Evaluation Of The Relationship Between Nutrition Knowledge And Disordered Eating Risk In Female Collegiate Athletes, Amy L. Miracle

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Involvement in collegiate sports among female athletes is at an all-time high with approximately 198,000 currently participating, (National Collegiate Athletic Association, 2012). With this increase in female participation in collegiate sports, the pressures of sport participation and academics lead some women to engage in harmful eating behaviors. These harmful eating behaviors may lead to the development of disordered eating (C. Johnson, Powers, & Dick, 1999; Quatromoni, 2008; Reel, SooHoo, Petrie, Greenleaf, & Carter, 2010; Reinking & Alexander, 2005). Many factors have been identified as contributing to the development of disordered eating but nutrition knowledge or lack thereof, has yet to …

Racial Differences In Self-Efficacy Expectations For Exercise, Selena P. Smith

Honors Theses

This project examined the link between race and self-efficacy. Self-efficacy pertains to an individual’s confidence in ability to complete or engage in a particular task or activity (Bandura, 1986). Prior research shows that self-efficacy has a great influence on exercise initiation and adherence (Bandura, 1986; Dishman, 1982; Rodgers and Sullivan, 2001). Research also supports that Caucasians are more likely to participate in exercise than African Americans (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2000).

Participants included 51 females, 31 Caucasians and 20 African Americans, between the ages of 18 and 50 years old. The women were recruited from local fitness gyms, …

Metergoline, The Basolateral Amygdala And The Ventral Pallidum: Implications For Panic Disorder, Douglas Ryan Schuweiler

Theses and Dissertations

Panic disorder (PD) is a common mental illness characterized by recurring spontaneous panic attacks. Scientific investigation into PD has been accelerated by the development of rat models of PD. These models can be validated by responses to intravenous sodium lactate (NaLac), including tachycardia, that are similar to PD patient responses. Previous work on established PD models has suggested that antagonism of serotonin (5-HT) receptors in the basolateral amygdala (BLA) may be sufficient to model PD. To test this hypothesis metergoline (MET), a 5-HT receptor antagonist, or vehicle was microinjected into the BLA of anesthetized rats. Following the microinjection, NaLac or …

The Structure Of Consciousness, Lowell Keith Friesen

Open Access Dissertations

In this dissertation, I examine the nature and structure of consciousness. Conscious experience is often said to be phenomenally unified, and subjects of consciousness are often self-conscious. I ask whether these features necessarily accompany conscious experience. Is it necessarily the case, for instance, that all of a conscious subject's experiences at a time are phenomenally unified? And is it necessarily the case that subjects of consciousness are self-conscious whenever they are conscious? I argue that the answer to the former is affirmative and the latter negative.

In the first chapter, I set the stage by distinguishing phenomenal unity from other …

Timing Of Developmental Stress And Phenotypic Plasticity: Effects Of Nutritional Stress At Different Developmental Periods On Physiological And Cognitive-Behavioral Traits In The Zebra Finch (Taeniopygia Guttata), Buddhamas Kriengwatana

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Developmentally plastic organisms can respond to stressful environmental conditions by altering multiple aspects of their phenotype, often in a permanent fashion. The timing of developmental stress influences these phenotypic alterations because the prioritization of resources to traits necessary to overcome the stressor may be costly for the development of other traits. Despite the importance of this timing, few studies in birds have accounted for it, and those that have usually examined the effect on a single or few variables. This dissertation addresses the outstanding issues regarding i) the effects of timing of developmental stress on developmental plasticity, and ii) the …

The Effect Of Exercise On Cravings And Ad Libitum Smoking Following Concurrent Stressors, Angela J. Fong

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Quitting smoking itself is a stressor; it is likely that other stressors occur concurrently and deplete self-regulatory resources. Failure to cope leads to smoking relapse. Exercise has been shown to attenuate cravings and withdrawal symptoms in previous research and has yet to be examined following concurrent stressors. This study examined the effect of an acute bout of moderate intensity exercise on psychological withdrawal symptoms (PWS), cravings and ad lib smoking after concurrent stressors (i.e., temporary abstinence and depletion). Twenty-five smokers were randomized into exercise or passive conditions. Results showed PWS were significantly exacerbated after temporary abstinence and again after depletion …

Exercise-Induced Hypoxia, Angiogenesis, And Behavioral Flexibility In The Adult Rat, Kiersten Lee Berggren

Theses and Dissertations

Exercise induces a myriad of effects on the brain from the growth of new capillaries and neurons, to improvements in cognitive performance. Additionally, recent research has shown that commencement of an exercise regimen also causes apoptosis. Therefore, it is possible that exercise-induced increases in oxygen demand cause the brain to transiently experience a state of hypoxia. To investigate this hypothesis, we measured protein levels of hypoxia inducible factor 1 alpha (HIF-1α), a transcription factor known to be upregulated in conditions of hypoxia or ischemia, in animals exposed to a single bout of treadmill exercise. After exercise animals were sacrificed at …

The Role Of A Camkii/Pka-Protein Degradation-Glur2 Pathway In The Control Of Memory Updating Following Retrieval, Timothy Jarome

Theses and Dissertations

Reconsolidation is thought to be a process whereby consolidated memories can be modified following retrieval. However, very little is known about the molecular mechanisms that regulate this reconsolidation process. In the present series of experiments we tested if memories "destabilize" or become labile following retrieval through a specific signaling pathway. We found that retrieval of a contextual fear memory differentially increased proteasome activity in the amygdala and hippocampus and resulted in unique changes in AMPA receptor subunit expression in these brain regions. These changes were dependent on CaMKII activity, which was required for increases in Rpt6-S120 phosphorylation, proteasome activity and …

Dissociation Of Β1 And Β2 Adrenergic Receptor Subtypes In Retrieval And Reconsolidation Of A Cocaine Conditioned Place Preference, Michael Fitzgerald

Theses and Dissertations

Drug-seeking behavior is maintained by encounters with drug-associated cues, and disrupting retrieval or reconsolidation of the drug-cue associations could reduce the risk of relapse. Previous work has shown beta-adrenergic receptor (beta-AR) antagonists can prevent retrieval or reconsolidation of a cocaine conditioned place preference (CPP) when administered either before or after test, respectively (Otis and Mueller, 2011; Otis et al., 2013). However, the specific beta-AR subtypes that mediate retrieval and reconsolidation of a cocaine CPP remain unknown. Here we used selective blockade of & beta-1 or beta-2-AR subtypes to determine the effects on retrieval and reconsolidation of a cocaine CPP. During …

Alternations Of Nmda And Gabab Receptor Function In Development: A Potential Animal Model Of Schizophrenia, Monica Bolton

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Schizophrenia is a debilitating mental disorder that affects up to 3% of the world population. The behavioral symptoms are categorized into positive and negative symptoms, which appear during late adolescence/early adulthood. Unfortunately, the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms of the disease are poorly understood. Several hypotheses exist to explain mechanisms contributing to these behavioral alterations. One model proposes that a reduced function of the NMDA glutamate receptor on specific GABAergic interneurons may be responsible for deficits in schizophrenia. Post-mortem investigations provide evidence of reductions in both glutamate and GABA-related proteins in patients with schizophrenia. Further, GABAergic interneurons that are activated …

Eating Pathology, Supplement Use, And Nutrition Knowledge In Collegiate Athletes, Holly Beth Lapota

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Eating pathology (e.g., body dissatisfaction, binge eating, purging, restrictive eating) and substance use (e.g., dietary supplements, legal and illegal drugs) proliferate university settings in the United States. Within university settings, athletes appear to be at particularly high risk for eating pathology and supplement use due to the external pressures to be attractive, the need to perform at optimal levels, and the specific characteristics of sports in which they participate. Furthermore, the degree to which athletes understand what constitutes healthy eating and exercise habits is understudied and may relate to eating pathology and supplement use. To build on existing research, the …

The Influence Of Proficiency And Age Of Acquisition On Second Language Processing: An Fmri Study Of Mandarin-English Bilinguals, Emily S. Nichols

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Research investigating the neural correlates of second language (L2) processing has usually studied age of acquisition (AoA) and proficiency separately. Presently, we examined both in parallel, treated as continuous variables. We used fMRI to study neural activity for L2 processing in adult native Mandarin speakers who are L2 English speakers. Behavioral measures of language proficiency and AoA were obtained from subjects prior to performing a picture-word matching task during an fMRI scan. Brain activity during L2 English processing was shown to be independently affected by AoA and proficiency; activity in left superior temporal gyrus and right parahippocampal gyrus was modulated …

Exploring Parental Experiences And Decision-Making Processes Following A Fetal Anomaly Diagnosis, Ramona L. Fernandez

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Often the first indication that something may be wrong in a seemingly normal pregnancy occurs during the first detailed ultrasound appointment between 16 and 20 weeks gestation. Even the most tentative suspicions of fetal anomalies is jarring. Parent’s default reality of a normal pregnancy and a ‘perfect child’ changes to one of risk factors and the possibility of an ‘unhealthy child’. This study begins with the realization of this first loss in a series of losses that follow for parents as they grapple with diagnostic information to be able to make informed medical decisions regarding their fetus and pregnancy. The …

Relations Among Type 2 Diabetes, Arterial Stiffness And Cognitive Functioning, Gregory A. Dore

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Although the associations among diabetes mellitus, cognitive functioning and arterial stiffness have been explored previously, the degree to which arterial stiffness is responsible for the association between diabetes and cognitive function has not been examined. The primary aim of the current investigations is to examine the extent to which arterial stiffness mediates the association between diabetes and cognitive function, as well as the extent to which this indirect effect is modified by age and APOE genotype. The sample included 590 participants (age 23-94, 62% women, 12% African- American) from the seventh wave of the Maine-Syracuse Longitudinal Study. Individuals with history …

Immediate Early Gene Expression In Medial Prefrontal Cortex And Hippocampus As A Function Of Aging, Megha Sehgal

Theses and Dissertations

Normal aging is accompanied by cognitive decline that differs from other aging-related pathological states like Alzheimer's disease. With an increasing proportion of the world population falling in an age group of 65 years and above, a preventive gerontological approach would improve the quality of life in the elderly. Especially important in this regard is the early detection of cognitive decline, so that appropriate measures can be taken to prevent development of cognitive deficits. Impairment in cognitive flexibility, the ability to modify a previously learnt behavior, is one such measure of impairment across species in aged animals. Previous work from our …

An Investigation Of Preferred Versus Imposed Exercise, Personality Traits, And Motivation On An Exercise Dependent College Aged Sample 2013, Chelsea M. Norton

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to: (a) investigate personality traits and motivation among an exercise dependent sample by using and examining theoretically based assessment tools and (b) measure feeling states under different types of physical activity among those who were considered to be exercise dependent. Four hundred twenty-three college students (54.4% male, 45.6% female) who met the inclusion criteria completed the Exercise Dependence Scale-Revised (EDS-R; Symons Downs, Hausenblas, & Nigg, 2004), Exercise Addiction Inventory (EAI; Terry, Szabó, & Griffiths, 2004), Exercise Identity Scale (EIS; Anderson & Cychosz, 1994), Behavioral Regulations in Exercise Questionnaire-2 (BREQ-2; Markland & Tobin, 2004), and …

The Role Of Appearance In Perceptions Of Personal Trainers 2013., Patrick R. Boerner

Master's Theses

The field of personal training in the United States is believed to have begun in the late 1970‟s and the early 1980‟s (Brooks, 2004). Today, personal training is a healthy profession that, according to the United States Department of Labor and the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2012), is expected to grow 24% (60,400 jobs) between 2010 and 2020. In comparison, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2012) predicts the average growth rate for all occupations within the U.S. to be only 14% during the same ten-year span. Rapid growth within the field of personal training has brought an increased scrutiny on …

Resistance Training Behaviors In College-Aged Women 2013, Melanie Kornblatt

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to develop an understanding of women’s training behavior in the weight room. A secondary purpose was to determine what their beliefs and perceptions were in regards to lifting weights. Participants were college-aged females ranging in age from 17-29 years. Observations of weight lifting activities were conducted during peak hours of operation (Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 3- 6pm) in the fitness facility. A total of 60 hours of observations were conducted over a period of four weeks. In addition to observations, two focus groups were conducted. Participants were divided into two specific groups: I …

The Effect Of Skeletal Muscle Mass On Basal Metabolic Rate In College-Age Males 2013, Chase Vaughn

Master's Theses

There are many misconceptions within the fitness community. One such misconception is that an increase in muscle mass will have a large increase in basal metabolic rate, yet this may not be the best way for successful weight loss. The purpose of this study was to determine the strength of the correlation between skeletal muscle mass and basal metabolic rate. The hypothesis tested was that basal metabolic rate is strongly correlated with skeletal muscle mass. The participants were college-aged males (n =17). Skeletal muscle mass (SMM) was estimated using the skin-fold circumference model (SFCM): SMM (kg) = Ht (0.00744 CAG2 …

The Role Of Nmda Receptors In Extinction Of Cocaine Self-Administration, Madalyn Hafenbreidel

Theses and Dissertations

Relapse is highly prevalent among recovering addicts, and can be triggered by associations made between the rewarding effects of the drug and cues, such as drug paraphernalia or contexts. Inhibiting these associations, through new extinction learning, could help reduce relapse rates. Extinction is formed in phases, like other types of memory. The memory first is acquired in short-term memory, then is consolidated into long-term storage from which it can be retrieved at a later time (Quirk & Mueller, 2008). NMDA receptors are necessary for extinction in other paradigms (Santini, Muller, & Quirk, 2001), and we previously found that blocking NMDA …

Investigation Of Web-Based Motivational Interviewing To Increase Physical Activity Participation Among Adults, Sasha Karnes

Theses and Dissertations

Interventions to enhance physical activity (PA) participation are needed given the high prevalence of under-activity and inactivity (CDC, 2001) and related occurrence of negative health consequences among the general adult population (Kung, Hoyert, Xu, & Murphy, 2008). Preliminary support for a therapeutic technique called Motivational Interviewing (MI) suggests promise for application to enhance PA participation (Burke, Arkowitz, & Menchola, 2003). Given the need for interventions to enhance PA and the preliminary support for MI as an intervention to increase PA, the aims of the current study were to: (a) determine if web-based MI is effective in enhancing PA participation, and …

Behavior Change In Applied Sport Psychology: The Use Of Processes Of Change In Psychological Training For Athletes, William Vincent Massey

Theses and Dissertations

The results of previous research (e.g. Leffingwell, Rider, & Williams, 2001; Massey, Meyer, & Hatch, 2011; Zizzi & Perna, 2003) have led scholars to conclude that the Transtheoretical Model (TTM) may be an appropriate paradigm to study readiness to change in sport psychology settings. However, processes of change - a critical element to the TTM - have yet to be studied or measured in an athlete population. As such, the purpose of the current investigation was to initially develop and examine a measure of the processes of change for use in applied sport psychology settings. Informed by relevant literature, an …

Accessing Learning In The Adult Zebrafish With A Novel Associative Learning Task, David Joseph Jouandot Ii

Dissertations

The zebrafish (Danio rerio) is accepted in the developmental and genomic communities as a model organism. However, the capacity for the zebrafish as a behavioral model has yet to be fully acknowledged. The research presented provides evidence validating the novel task, aids in gaining a better understanding of the learning processes, and identifies individual differences. The novel associative learning task differs from any present well established behavioral model and lends itself to future development. The task provides the zebrafish community with a high output behavioral task which is readily replicated and allows one researcher to test between eight …

Tactile Behavior In A Group Of Captive Rough-Toothed Dolphins As A Function Of Opportunities To Play With Objects, Kelly Ann Caffery

Dissertations

Cetaceans live in complex physical and social environments that are frequently changing. In contrast, the captive environment for marine mammals is often lacking in stimulation. As a result, enrichment is often used to increase species-typical behaviors and enhance the well-being of the animals. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of enrichment objects on the social behavior of a group of seven captive rough-toothed dolphins (Steno bredanensis). Observations of this species in the wild suggest it may have a particular affinity for tactile and object play behaviors. Therefore, these behavior categories were a primary focus …

Effects Of Food Dispersion On Dominance Related Behaviors In Garnett's Bushbaby (Otolemur Garnettii)?, Kyle Daniel Edens

Dissertations

Socio-ecological theorists tie primate social structure diversity to variations in habitats within which primate species reside. This premise permits laboratory researchers to investigate specific factors that influence or relate to social structure formation and maintenance. The focus of the current investigation was three fold. We first aimed to determine the relationships between traditional and non-traditional behavioral measures of dominance, then evidence for dominance hierarchy formation was examined, and various hypotheses were tested to discern if adjustments in the foraging context altered social behaviors in Garnett’s bushbaby (Otolemur garnettii). It was determined that animals likely to displace conspecifics were …